About Senator Gomes

Deputy Majority Leader

Chair: Labor & Public Employees

Vice Chair: Aging; Veterans’ Affairs

Ed Gomes is currently serving his sixth term as state Senator for the 23rd Senatorial District, which serves two-thirds of Bridgeport and a portion of Stratford. Gomes had served the 23rd senatorial district from 2005 to 2012, and was reelected again in 2015 in a special election.

Senator Gomes and his family moved to Bridgeport in 1944 where he attended Bridgeport public schools. In 1983, he was elected to serve on the Bridgeport City Council until 1989. During his time there, Ed fought for well-paying jobs, good schools, strong neighborhoods, and seniors. He retired from the United Steelworkers of America in February 1998, and was elected to the Bridgeport City Council in 1999.

Senator Gomes’ first two years in the U.S. Army were served in Virginia, where he experienced life under racial segregation while away from the military base. This exposure to racial bias fueled Ed’s desire to fight for civil rights and serve as a voice for underserved and marginalized communities.

While stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, Ed was part of the historic March for Jobs and Freedom held in Washington D.C. The march, as well as its organizers Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, had a profound impact on what would also help shape Ed’s life and work.

Senator Gomes joined forces with Brennan Center for Justice, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, and Common Cause in May 2002 to successfully challenge Connecticut’s discriminatory delegate primary system. His compelling testimony placed a major role in Federal District Judge Peter Dorsey’s decision to overturn the delegate primary system.

In 2009, Senator Gomes pushed for legislation that would help preserve jobs and vital services in Bridgeport, Connecticut’s most populous cities. As Chair of the Housing Committee in 2012, Ed helped passed legislation to establish a pilot Urban Revitalization Program, focused on promoting home ownership and owner-occupied housing in Connecticut’s largest cities. Holding true to the idea that everyone deserves a fair chance to live a comfortable civilian life, Ed was recognized by the members of the Connecticut Pardon Team in 2012 for his work in helping reformed individuals move past their criminal records.

While serving as state Senator in the past, Ed also supported legislation pertaining to the repeal of the death penalty, the education reform package, and the Step-Up program.

Senator Gomes is the proud father of six children, 11 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.